Whale lance



Patented June 24, 1924.

llUTm LIGGETT, F GALE-GR, Q'HIU.

SIABJK AW TmClTTEiE common.

I Application flledlanuary 8, 1323. serial lt'o. 6 1.13%.

To all whom it may concern: .Be it known that I, LUTHER M. Lrcon'rr, acitizen of the United States, residing at Galion, in the county ofCrawford and State of 6 Ohio, have invented certain new and useful 1mrovements in Spark and Throttle (lontro s, of which the following is aspecifics tion. The present invention relates to a spark w and throttlecontrol and has for its object to provide a novel mounting for thethrottle and spark levers, whereby a convenient, compact and protectedconstruction is provided.

Further objects of the invention are to provide a device of thischaracter which is comparatively simple'and inexpensive in its construction, which provides for an accurate movement of the controllevers, which has a y with an upstanding annular rib 4, and rocompensating connection between the control levers and the respectivetubes so that the control levers will still move in the same plane eventhough the tubes may springer be thrown slightly out of alinement, andwhich completelyhouses and conceals the connections so thatproperoperation of the device will not be prevented by accumulations ofmoisture and dirt on the interior thereof.

With the above and other objects in view,

the invention consists in certain combinations and arrangements of theparts as will more fully appear as the description proceeds, the novelfeatures thereof being pointed out in the appended claims.

For a full understanding of the invention reference is to 'be had to thefollowing description and accompanying drawings in ,which,

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a control 40 device which is constructedin accordance with the invention, the control levers being shown bydotted lines in the positions as sumed when swungto opposite limits oftheir movement.

Figure 2 is a transverse sectional view through. the device, said vie-w,being taken substantially on the line 2-2 of Figure 3.

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view through the device, on the line 33of Fig. 2.

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken substantiallyon the line 4-4 of Figure 1.

Figures 5 and Gare detail views of one of the spider elements.

Corresponding and like parts are referred I periphery to in thefollowing description and indicated on all of the views of the drawingsby like reference characters.

" Referring to the drawings, which illustrate one of many possibleembodiments of w the invention, the numeral l designates the base of thecontrol device, saidbase being formed of hard blackfibr'e, hard rubberor other suitable material,'and having a depression 1 in the bottomthereof which is of a $6 suitable size and depth to receive the usualsteering post nut when the base is assembled on the steering wheel. Arecess 1 is formed at the. top of the depression 1 and receives a metalbottom plate 2 which is swaged upon or otherwise securely fastened tothe support tube 3.

The top of the base member 1 is formed tatably mounted upon the basemember is a ringb which carries the throttle lever 6. This ring isprovided at the to and bottom thereof with annular grooves Thedownwardly facing groove 7 of the ring loosely receives the rib 4. ofthe base 1, while the up- 8 wardly facing groove 7 receives the down-'wa dly extending annular rib 8 of the interme iate guide plate 9, saidintermediate plate being also formed with a similar upwardly projectingrib 8.

The throttle lever ring 5 is provided upon the inner periphery thereofwith a pair of recesses 10 which loosely receive the arms of a spidermember 11 The hub portion of the spider member-is shown as having theinner thereof serrated so that it can be swaged or forcibly fitted uponthe upper end of the throttletube 12. The free ends of the spider 11loosely engage the recesses 10 of the ring so that there is in effect aloose or compensating connection between the throttle lever ring and thethrottle tube. The throttle lever ring is closely confined between thebase 1 and intermediate guide plate 9, and is accurately guided byengagement of the ribs 4 and 8 with the annular groove 7 thereof, sothat it always turns in the same plane and has an accurately defined athof movement. This will not be disturbed even though the spider may becanted with respect 1 to the tube or the tube may be somewhat sprung outor alineinent.

Arranged above the intermediate guide plate 9 isthe spark lever ring 18which is somewhat similar in construction to .the 1 June 24, 1924.

J. D. LOOP WHALE- LANCE Filed Dec. 6, 1920 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 PatentedJune 24, 1924.

JOHN D. LOOP, or Lone BEACH, CALIFORNIA.

WHALE LANCE.

Application filed December 6, 1920. Seria1 No. 428,710I-' To all whom itmay concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN. D. Loor, a. citizen of the United States,residing at.

Long Beach, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, haveinvented new and useful Improvements in Whale Lances, of which thefollowing is aspecifioation.

It is the object of this-invention to provide a Whale lance adapted tocontainna suitable gas Which is released when the lance has penetrated apredetermined dis-- tan'c'e. The gasthusr'elease'd Will-kill the Whaleand inflate its body, to cause thesam-e to float and thus eliminate thedanger of the Whale sinking after being struck: with the lance.

The invention will berea'dily understood The improved lance consistsessentially of a lance headA connected by a valvemeniber 13 to a tube Gadapted to contain'th'e gaseous substance, which when in the tube ispreferably in liquid form. A filling valve D is arranged at the rearendof the tube (3.

The tube 0 is of the same diameter as the lance head, and may be made ofany.

suitable length. In practice it will be foundpractical to provide a tubeadapted to con-- tain about 3 lbs. of liquid carbon dioxide The forwardend of "the tube is provided with a threaded socket 1, and the rear endofthe tube is provided with a similar threaded socket 2 adapted toreceive the threaded nipple 3 of the filling valve D which may be of anyusual construction em ployed for filling gas containers. The valvecomprises substantiallyatubular member F1 adapted to receive afillinghose, and W-hile the container is being-filled an air vent must beprovided, which is shown at F. After the container has been filled, asuitable valve G is adapted to close'the conduit leadingfrom the fillingmember E to the container. The valve B attached to the forward'enrl is atransverse section taken on of. thexgas tubeds provided Withv an axialbore 4; for. the: passage of gas from the;

tube. Cyanchat- ,its'jrear end terminates; in

a nipple. 5threaded into socket 1. Thefor- Ward end of the valvecomprises a: screwthrea'ded nipple 6 arranged for threadedconnectioniwith the lance head; This nip.-

ple terminates ina threadednipple 7 of re duced diameter, and suitablediscs 8 are -re,-, ceived over the: endof: nipple 7 and the end ofrbore4 for preventing. the escape of:

These discs are. held in position by a cap 9 threaded. on to nipple 7andhaving? an,

axial opening. in al-inem'ent With the bore 1;

The discs 8 normally prevent: thee'scapeof thegas into the lance. head,but are; adapted to beperforated by. a. pin carried by the lan'ceheadwhen the-lance has penetrated a whale. a' predetermined: distance.The per: foratinigof: the discs. permits the escape of the: liquidv :gastothe. lance. head. from whence itiis discharged: into thebody; of

thefvvhalei for. killing the Whale an'dfinflating therbody.

The lance head' A1is provided at its rear end Wit-ha threaded socket. 11received u-p+ on nipple 6, and at its forward end--is =pr.o= vide'd Witha. usual lance. point 12$ The soclietill isfiofsuificient depth to.receive both nipples 6. and 7 with the cap 9" upon the latter nipple,Yandbeyond said'cap the. lance' head is. provided with an axial bore 1%This bore; extends part way into: the-"la'nce' head, andi is adapted toreceive a; pin 14c which is providedwith apo-int 15 for'perforatingdiscsbawhen theipin is moved rear Wardly. through bore 13. The pin fitslooses ly WltlllIl' borev 13,. so that after discs 8- are perforated,the liquidlgas Willforceqthev pin forward. in its. borebeyond dischargevports so that thevgas may freely flow through said bore to the dischargeports: The dischargeports shown. at. 16 extend at; arrear- Ward:inclination through the; lance. head to opposite sides of the. saniefrom opposite: sides of bore 13-,- so that. theliquid: gas:

When released} will escape through these ports to: the b o'dy ofthewhale.

The a means employed for" actuating;

14 consists of' a suitable: lanyard; 20 con.- nect-ed to a plug 21Which'isreceived With.- in bore 13 against theend' of pin 14'. The

lanyard extends along side'tlie'zpin througha longitudinal groove 22provided in theipini and then extends; outwardlythrough one of;

the rearvvard'ly inclined discharge ports-16;

The lanyard extends rearwardly along side the lance a suitable distance,and is connected to a handle 24 which is mounted upon tube C so as toproject from opposite sides thereof. The lanyard handle is preferablyheld upon the tube by securing the lanyard 20 around the tube andhandle. The lanyard handle is positioned upon tube C at such a pointthat when the lance has penetrated a whale the desired distance, thelanyard handle will impinge against the body of the whale. As the lancecontinues its forward movement the handle will slip rearwardly alongtube C and thereby jerk the wire 20 so as to pull pin 14 rearwardly, andthus cause the same to perforate discs 8.

At the same time plug 21 and the lanyard will be withdrawn through theport 16, and the escaping gas will then force pin 14 back within itsbore so that the gas may freely escape through bore 13 and ports 16 tothe body of the whale.

The liquid gas thus released, will kill the Whale and inflate the body.While I have stated that carbon dioxide is preferably employed for thispurpose, it will be obvious that any other suitable gas may also beused. If 3 lbs. of carbon dioxide are employed in the lance, it willexpand to approximately 25 cu. ft. when gasifying within the whale body,and this will be found suflicient to kill the whale and maintain thebody floating upon the surface of the water.

Until the lanyard is actuated as thus described, pin 14 is heldretracted within its bore. For this purpose the lance head is providedwith a transverse bore 17 communicating with one of the ports 16, andthe lanyard is provided with a loop 18 carrying a tube 18 in alinenientwith bore 17 A pin 19 shown as a wooden pin is re ceived through opening17 and tube 18 for maintaining the pin 14 in retracted position, andwhen a whale is struck and the lanyard is actuated as previouslydescribed, the force exerted thereon will break the retaining pin 19,and thus permit actuation of the parts.

In order to prevent accidental movement of pin 14 after the lance hasbeen charged, it will be found desirable to insert a metallic pin suchas shown at 19 in Fig. 3 through opening 17 and tube 18 until the lanceis ready to be used. This pin is of suflicient strength as to not break,and thus release pin 14 even though considerable force is exerted uponlanyard 20.

Means are preferably provided upon the lance for limiting thepenetration of the same, and for preventing the lance being withdrawnfrom the whale. For this purpose a split clamp 27 (Fig. 7) is fixed upontube 0 at a suitable distance in rear of handle 24, and said clamp isprovided with arms 28 radially extending from the clamp. The arms arebent forwardly at their outer ends as shown at 29.

Usual harpoons are mounted upon the arm ends 29, said harpoons beingshown as comprising shanks 30 having sockets 31 at their rear endswedged upon the arm ends 29. At the forward ends of shanks 3O barbs 32are pivoted upon the shanks as by pins 33, and said barbs are normallyheld in longitudinal alinement with their shanks by means of wooden pins34 received through the barbs and shanks. A flexible member such as arope 35 is secured at its ends to the shanks 30, while its intermediateportion is trained about the container adjacent the clamp 27. Thisarrangement of the flexible member provides means for maintaining apermanent but flexible and extensible connection between the barbs 32and the container C so that when the lance and barbs have penetrated thebody of a whale, the barb shanks 30 may become disengaged from the arms28 under movement of the whale, but a connection between the barbs andthe container is still maintained to prevent displacement of the lancefrom the whale body.

When the lance is used it will penetrate l the whale until lanyardhandle 24 impinges against the whale body, whereupon the contents oftube C will be discharged in the whale body as previously described, andthe continued penetration of the lance will cause the lanyard handle toslip rearwardly along tube C. When the lance has penetrated the whaleuntil clamp 27 impinges against the whale body, the forward move ment ofthe lance will be stopped, thereby preventing the lance penetrating thewhale too far. At the same time the barbed ends of the harpoons mountedupon the clamp will have penetrated the whale, and should there be atendency of the lance to withdraw from the body of the whale, the barbs32 will thus hold the entire device against withdrawal, since theharpoons carrying the barbs are held to the clamp 27 and the lance bymeans of the ropes 35.

The lance as thus constructed will be found particularly useful forwhaling from an aerial vessel, the lance being adapted to be droppedfrom the vessel at a sufficient height to cause penetration of thewhales body. If found necessary the lance may be additionally weightedin order to cause penetration. It will be obvious however, that thelance may be employed in other ways, such as by projecting the same froma. suitable gun mounted upon either an aerial or water vessel.

Various changes may be made without departin from the spirit of theinvention as olaime What is claimed is:

1. A lance including a container, a valve upon said container having aclosure disc, a lance head carrying a pin adapted to be moved rearwardlywhen the lance has penetrated a distance, said pin perforating said discto release the contents of the container.

2. A lance including a container, a lance head carrying a pin, a lanyardhandle upon said lance, a lanyard connecting the handle to said pin formoving the pin when the lanyard handle impinges against the body beingpenetrated, said pin perforating the container to release the contentsthereof.

3. A lance for whales, comprising a container adapted to penetrate awhale body, and elements also adapted to penetrate a whale body to. apredetermined depth and to confine the container within the body againstaccidental displacement.

4. In a lance for whales, a container adapted to receive a chemicalunder pressure, a frangible valve sealing the container, a pin forpuncturing the valve to liberate the chemical, frangible means forretaining the pin in an inactive position, and means operable by thepenetration of the lance for actuating the pin to puncture the valve.

5. In a lance for whales, a container adapted to receive a chemicalunder pressure, a frangible valve sealing the container, a pin forpuncturing the valve to liberate the chemical, frangible means forretaining the pin in an inactive position, means operable by thepenetration of the device for actuating the pin to puncture the valve,and means for retaining the device within the whale body againstwithdrawal,

6. In a lance for whales, a container adapted to receive a chemicalunder pressure, a frangible valve sealing the container, a pin forpuncturing the valve to liberate the chemical, frangible means forretaining the pin in an inactive position, and slidable means operableby the penetration of the device for actuating the pin to puncture thevalve.

7. In a harpooning device, a lance having a longitudinally extendingbore, radiall ex= tending ports communicating with the ore, a containeradapted to receive a chemical under pressure and in communication withthe bore, frangible disks associated with the container for confiningthe chemical within the container, a cap for retaining the disks inconfining position, a pin slidable in the bore and normally out ofcontact with the disks, a plug slidable in the bore and engaging thepin, a flexible member connected to the plug and extending from thelance through one of said ports, a frangible member associated with theflexible member for normally preventing movement of said pin to puncturethe disks, and means connected to said flexible member adapted to beoperated when the lance penetrates a body for actuating the flexiblemember to rupture the frangible member and operate the plug to causesaid pin to puncture said disks, whereby the chemical confined in thecontainer will be liberated and expanded through said ports.

8. A lance for whales, comprisin a container adapted -to penetrate a whae body, penetrating elements, and flexible means connecting the elementsto the container whereby the elements serve to maintain the containerwithin the whale body against accidental displacement.

9. A lance for whales, comprising a container adapted to penetrate awhale body, penetrating elements removably sustained upon the containerand arranged to limit the penetration of the container, and flexiblemeans secured to the elements and trained about the container for thepurpose described.

10. A lance for whales comprising a container adapted to penetrate awhale body, penetrating elements removably sustained upon the containerand arranged to limit the penetration of the container.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

JOHN D. LOOP

